BERLIN (MNI) – Italy’s debt woes are not on the agenda of a meeting
of high-ranking officials from the European Central Bank, European
Commission and European Council on Monday morning, a German government
spokesman said today.
Prior to the Eurogroup meeting, European Council President Herman
Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European
Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, Eurogroup head Jean-Claude
Juncker, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and a
representative of the Italian Finance Ministry will meet, according to
reports.
0 “According to our information, Italy is not on the agenda of
this meeting, but rather it will be about…the new program for Greece,”
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a regular press
conference here. Greece will also be the main topic at today’s Eurogroup
meeting, he reminded.
“Secondly, I can tell you that the government has full confidence
in the Italian government,” Seibert added. “It has full confidence that
the Italian government will undertake the necessary, clear decisions
regarding an austerity budget.”
Seibert warned not to lump all Eurozone countries together “but to
look at them separately and very individually.”
The spokesman was also asked about a media report that the ECB is
calling for a larger Eurozone rescue fund to prevent the sovereign debt
crisis from spreading to bigger economies such as Italy.
On that matter, Seibert only remarked that the European Financial
Stability Facility (EFSF) had just recently been enlarged to E440
billion.
“The government would like to remind that it is especially
important that one now works with all determination on the new program
for Greece and that this program be swiftly agreed upon,” Seibert said.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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